1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to infant entertainment devices and more particularly to selectively actuated entertainment devices coupled to a reconfigurable support.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Infant entertainment devices coupled to supports, such as mats, are known in the art. Conventional infant entertainment devices that are coupled to mats do not provide a high level of entertainment for the infant user. Traditionally, such entertainment devices are limited by the stability of the support (i.e., the ability of the support to carry significant weight) and the desire to make the mat/entertainment device assembly relatively portable.
There are mats that have entertainment features suspended above them from flexible supports such that the mat can be folded for easy storage and transportation, but the entertainment features are typically static figures that can only be moved when the infant contacts the figures. Infants who cannot reach the figures, or infants who do not have the motor skills to strike the figure, receive little entertainment value from the figures.
There are also entertainment devices that are configured to be positioned above infants that are lying on a support surface. Such entertainment devices do not include a mat, or other support, upon which an infant can lie. Moreover, such devices typically are not portable, and include cumbersome support assemblies to properly position the entertainment features above the infant.
Thus, there is a need for a collapsible infant support including an entertainment device and that is easily reconfigured from a stored position to a use position and that can be easily transported.
The present invention provides an apparatus including a mat having a first portion and a second portion, a support coupled to and extending above the mat, and an entertainment device coupled to the support. The entertainment device includes a motion detector. The mat is reconfigurable between an expanded configuration and a collapsed configuration, such that in the expanded configuration, the first portion and the second portion define a planar surface spaced apart from the entertainment device and in the collapsed configuration, the first portion and the second portion do not define the planar surface. An output generator is operatively coupled to the entertainment device. The output generator is responsive to actuation of the motion detector.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a support is coupled to and extends above the mat and the entertainment device is coupled to the support. The entertainment device includes a first actuator configured to move in a first manner, and a second actuator configured to move in a second manner. A first article is suspended from the entertainment device and is operatively coupled to the first actuator such that the first article moves in the first manner. A second article is suspended from the entertainment device and is operatively coupled to the second actuator such that the second article moves in the second manner. More articles may be similarly coupled to the entertainment device.
According to another aspect of the invention, the mat includes a junction portion defined between the first portion and the second portion. A support is coupled to the mat proximate the junction portion. The support includes a first foot member coupled to a first side of the mat, and a second foot member coupled to the second side of the mat. A first support post is coupled to the first foot member, and a second support post is coupled to the second foot member. The first foot member and the second foot member are reconfigurable between a first orientation and a second orientation such that in the first orientation the first foot member and the second foot member are configured to inhibit folding of the mat from an unfolded position, and in the second orientation, the mat is foldable about the junction portion.